Mother of Pakistan - An Enduring Biography

Firstly, I would like to thank Vivek Tejuja and Penguin India for a copy of The Begum: A Potrait of Ra’ana Liaqat Ali Khan, Pakistan’s Pioneering First Lady written by Deepa Agarwal and Tahmina Aziz Ayub.

In the 21^st century, it is more than clear that feminism comes in a plethora of forms. She comes in skirts or jeans, long or short, in shoes or heels, with a hijab or without. What is important is this – it is her choice. So it is, seventy odd years after the bifurcation of the Indian subcontinent, I set out to read about a lady whose identity could be defined in multiple ways – Ra’ana Liaqat Ali Khan who was born Irene Margaret Pant to a family that had converted to Christianity from Hinduism.

It was quite an odd time for me to read this book, with the rising tensions between India and Pakistan looming above all our heads. However, to read about a feminist figure from across this border that is not even a hundred years old, leads the reader to realize that as women, we fight for the same thing on either side of the border: equality.

The first part of the book written by Deepa Agarwal focuses on Pant’s life in India while the second part written by Tahmima Aziz Ayub follows her life as the first First Lady of Pakistan. Ra’ana served as an executive member of the Pakistan Movement Committee and also acted as economic adviser to Muhammad Ali Jinnah.

What I adored about this work was that it showed that the liberal woman comes in many forms. In a world that tries to control how a woman dresses (she wears too little, she wears too much), Ra’ana attitude and actions show us that it is not what she wears that matters, rather it is what she does.

It is my constant opinion that we did not learn enough history while in school – especially details of “the other”. Through this biography, we learn not just about Ra’ana and the people in her life but also of Pakistan.

As time goes by, it becomes clear that history in fact starred a lot more women than we talk about – that women often play much larger roles in the shaping of our society and its history. Books like The Begum bring out stories about these women and carry these across borders. As a history buff, I tended to look into the internet a lot during the course of reading the book (I like to supplement my knowledge from multiple sources) which led me to learn a lot about our neighbors to the northwest.

Final Thoughts: The history you know depends a lot on where you source it from. In this day age with so many sources (often fake), I believe it is important to read as much as we can – not just about ourselves but also about people that others tell you to be wary of. I am so glad that The Begum found its way into my library and helped me learn so much about the women’s empowerment movement in Pakistan and about the woman who led it.